Chapter 23

The clinic closed for the evening, and Nolan was looking forward to heading to Ryder’s place and helping him shower again. It felt good being up against a naked man, even if that man couldn’t jack him off very effectively.

He smiled to himself, his mind on Ryder and the shower, when someone came up behind him and stood close. He spun, finding Dr. Moore so close it freaked him out a little.

“Dr. Moore, I thought you’d left.” Nolan scooted to the side to get a little space between them.

Moore chuckled. "Not yet. But I figured out where I know you from, and I just hadn't had a chance to talk to you alone."

The look in the doctor’s eyes freaked him out a bit. “Oh,” was all Nolan could think to say.

“I went back to Boston and was at my cousin’s house. You were married to one of my other cousins. I saw your photo with Andrew.”

Heat washed over Nolan. He glanced behind Dr. Moore, hoping no one had heard. Panic filled him, and he reached out and grabbed onto Moore's arm.

“I don’t think it’s safe to be out here.”

“Well, that’s a damn shame because my husband is moving to town next week.”

“Oh.” Nolan blinked and shook his head. He closed his eyes as thoughts of Andrew hit him hard.

Dr. Moore squeezed his shoulder. “Hey, are you okay?”

“Sorry. I didn’t expect to be talking about Andrew here. I didn’t know you were his cousin.”

“Yeah. I’m from the side of the family that didn’t cut him off. I know we weren’t close with him, but I sent a wedding gift once I found out you two were married.”

“I’m sorry. That was so long ago, I don’t know?—”

Moore's laughter filled the space. "It's okay. It was a while ago. I should have been a better cousin and come to the wedding. I was busy working, and I'm sure you two were busy with life."

Nolan shrugged. “We didn’t really tell anyone when we got married. He didn’t think anyone from his side of the family would come. I don’t think he knew…” Nolan raised his eyebrows and tilted his head to the side.

Moore snorted. "No one knew I was gay. I married Wade a year ago. Before then, I was a confirmed bachelor. Andrew's mother won't acknowledge me, though she used to call me her favorite nephew."

Nolan cringed. “Damn, that sucks.”

Moore shrugged. "Yeah, well, what can you do with your family?"

“True.”

“I know Wade will want to have you over.”

Fear wove through him. He should be braver. It wasn’t like someone was going to attack him for going to dinner with the doctor who worked at the clinic. Though worry filled him because he hadn’t figured out who had tried to break into his house. No more attempts had been made after Ryder had come out with his gun, but something was up, and he wasn’t sure what.

"Sure. That would be great." He just hoped he was able to stay in the closet. Now, though, he had the alarm installed and a camera on the front and back of the house. Maybe having gay friends here in this small southern town would be a good thing. He enjoyed socializing in Virginia. Well, he had until Andrew died. Then everyone treated him differently.

"Good. It will probably take him a month or more to get the house how he likes it. He's very particular, but he's a good man."

“That’s good to hear.” Nolan was about to make an excuse and say goodbye when a thought hit. “So when you were in Boston at your cousin’s place, did you tell anyone you recognized me?”

“I did. Was there a problem with that?”

Nolan's heart sank, but he shook his head. "No, it's just Andrew's mother wanted me to send her the ashes, and I said no. She thought I still lived in Virginia. Then, last week, someone broke into my place."

Dr. Moore’s eyes went wide. “Oh God, that’s awful.”

“They didn’t take anything. I have an alarm and cameras now, but it was disturbing. I thought she might have tried to hire someone to steal the ashes.”

Moore’s nose wrinkled as he frowned. “That’s so weird. I hope my going home and telling people I saw you didn’t cause problems.”

Nolan shook his head. "There's no way you could have known. It's not like I was telling anyone that his mother was causing problems. Besides, the only thing they took was a photo of Andrew, which I can reprint."

“I’m sorry that happened. I feel responsible. I was just surprised when I saw the photo of you with Andrew. I guess someone might have talked about it and spread the news to his mother.”

“It’s okay. I don’t think they’ll try to break in again, or at least they haven’t since I got the camera up.” He didn’t tell the part about Ryder shooting the gun into the air to chase the person away.

Moore squeezed his shoulder. “It was good talking to you, and I’ll tell you when Wade is ready to have people over.”

“Thank you. Have a good evening.”

“You, too. Bye.”

Nolan headed out. He was actually excited to do the chores for Ryder. And it wasn’t just the fact that he and Ryder would end up naked in the shower. He really was looking forward to doing something with the animals. He’d never really had much contact with farm animals before this. He found Ryder’s cow and goats to be cute and smart. Mavis recognized him and knew he would give her a treat. He had looked up what he could give a cow as a treat. Yesterday, he'd given her a carrot, and today, he had an apple for her. It was nice having the animals around.

Living next door to Ryder was different from he'd first thought it would be. The achingly rude man he'd first met wasn't who Ryder really was. He'd put on an act to hide his true self. They were both hurting, and they both had things in life they had to overcome. Really, they were much more alike than either of them probably suspected. He hoped their relationship would continue to grow because he was becoming attached to the man.